Brian Russell out, Lawyer Milloy in at safety for Seahawks

A few expected moves and a few surprises were revealed when the Seattle Seahawks released their final roster Saturday before the NFL’s deadline.

As expected, the Seahawks placed cornerback Marcus Trufant, who had not practiced since training camp opened over a month ago, on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list with a disk problem in his back. Trufant will not be eligible to join the team until after Week 6 of the regular season.

And, for the second straight year, the team chose veteran kicker Olindo Mare over Brandon Coutu as the starting kicker, waiving the second-year player.

As for surprises, the Seahawks terminated the contract of projected starting free safety Brian Russell, along with versatile veteran linebacker D.D. Lewis, to help shed 23 players to reach the 53-player roster limit.

The Seahawks apparently already have a replacement in mind for Russell – 35-year-old safety and Tacoma native Lawyer Milloy.

First reported by NFL.com and later confirmed by Milloy himself via his Twitter account, the University of Washington product will sign with the Seahawks after the team cleared a spot for him by releasing Russell.

Financial details were not available, but it will be a one-year deal.

Milloy played for the Atlanta Falcons the last three seasons, but had yet to join a team this year. Milloy recently turned down a chance to join the Detroit Lions after the sides could not come to financial terms.

Seahawks general manager Tim Ruskell had said before training camp started that Russell was battling for his starting spot with Jordan Babineaux, 27.

However, the competition never materialized, with Russell taking the majority of the snaps with the first-unit defense during the exhibition season.

Russell, 31, played two seasons with Seattle since joining the team in 2007. He started 32 games and had one interception.

Seattle struggled defending the pass last season, finishing last in the league in pass defense.

Milloy, who played for coach Jim Mora in 2006 – Mora’s last season in Atlanta – likely will play strong safety for Seattle, with current strong safety Deon Grant moving to free safety.